Couple Of Questions On Night Guards

[LottF]

I have some jaw clicking develop on one side as I’ve been stressed by recent dental work and I my jaw feels tight when laying down so may consider a custom night guard although I’m not 100% I’m grinding or anything

I’m just wondering do dentists have the guard ready in one visit or does it need to be sent off to a lab ?

Is it best to get one for the top and bottom teeth or just one or the other ?

also say for example in future I have a crown or something does that mean the night guard will need adjusting to the new crown or will I have to pay for another one ?

how much should I expect to pay for one ? Thanks

 

[Judythecat]

Not a dentist, but a long-term teeth clencher. My experience has been that I needed an appointment to have impressions of my teeth done, the moulds are sent off to a lab, then a further appointment to collect the guard and check the fit. (That second appointment is very quick, five minutes tops.)

My surgery is a mix of NHS and private, and I am an NHS patient. My dentist was able to request approval from the local health board to make guards for an NHS fee for me, which was about £40. The private cost was about £200. The approval process takes a long time - months - and the lab time was about a week. I’ve just about chewed through my current one, and actually emailed my surgery yesterday to ask if there was any way to initiate the approval request while they are shut - the receptionist replied and told me my dentist us in tomorrow and will get back to me.

I started off with a soft top guard, then got a rigid bottom one. I get about a year out of each one, but I do wear it religiously every single night. Re adjusting it, the reason I had the top one initially was because I was having work done on my lower back teeth (which I had bust up with clenching!). My dentist says her preference is lower guards.

I am in Scotland, and the system in England works differently - obviously this is just my own personal experience.

 

[MountainMama]

I am in the U.S. so the price question won’t matter but I can speak to the adjustment.
I had impressions taken, then had to wait three weeks to have it made in the lab. Then my dentist made minor adjustments. When I had my implant crowns put in (one upper and two lower) he adjusted so the bottom ones wouldn’t hit on the nightguard bite, and hollowed our the guard around my front tooth implant crown so that it wouldn’t even touch it. That way I didn’t have to worry about force on it. You shouldn’t have to get another one made.

 

[Enarete]

The best person to advise you about whether the top or bottom is the best, might be your dentist. Some dentists have preferences and sometimes it‘s about using the side that is less likely to require work in the future to prevent you from having to get a new one. Night guard on the top is a bit more tolerable - depending on how sensitive you are, the bottom guard might feel like there is not much space for your tongue (my dentist told me).

 

[Judythecat]

Just following up to say my dentist rang on Wednesday as planned. She said she would do the paperwork, and that she thought she would still have my moulds from last year, so it would hopefully be a case of just picking it up. She did say that if she doesn’t have them that impressions would be possible in the first phase of reopening.